BP Alternative Energy has moved into full construction on phase one of the Sherbino Wind Farm located in west Texas. Phase one of the project will have a capacity of 150 MW and is being built through a 50-50 joint venture agreement with Padoma Wind Power LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy Inc. The first phase of the project is expected to come online in the second half of the year.

Sherbino I will include 50 3MW Vestas V-90 wind turbine generators. Initial construction on the 10,000-acre site began last year, and the overall project has a potential capacity of 750 MW.

"BP is growing its wind power portfolio in the U.S., and the Sherbino wind farm in Texas is the latest example of that growth," says Bob Malone, chairman and president of BP America. "Wind power is one of America's most abundant natural resources, and we believe that turning wind into electricity should be a major part of the nation's drive to increase the use of alternative energy and reduce carbon emissions."

The project has financially hedged a majority of the output. The physical power generated from phase one of the Sherbino wind project will be delivered into the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas transmission system and sold on the wholesale power market.